Apple Podcasts categories

Apple Podcasts recommends shows based on more than 100 categories and subcategories. You can set and modify your categories at any time in Apple Podcasts Connect or through a third-party hosting provider.

How categories are displayed

The primary category is used to display your show in each category page, Top Charts, and personalized recommendations on Home, Search, and within Categories in Library. By default, Apple Podcasts displays the primary category on each show page. If a subcategory is added, it will be displayed instead.

The secondary category also helps your show appear in select category pages, personalized recommendations on Home and Search and editorially curated collections on Browse.

You can choose up to two categories per show — primary and secondary — plus subcategories for each, if available. If they’re relevant to your show, you’re encouraged to fill those slots, as it increases organic discoverability on Apple Podcasts and beyond.

How categories influence the ways listeners find your shows

Editorial curation

The Apple Podcasts editorial team references each show’s categories to inform curation for each market and for various cultural moments and events. Creators are encouraged to make sure their categories are up to date so that their shows are considered for featuring opportunities on Browse.

Personalized recommendations

On Home, listeners can discover personalized recommendations for new shows and episodes based on the categories they select as Favorites, and the shows they listen to and the categories associated with them. For example, listeners who enjoy shows categorized under Arts will see suggestions for shows categorized under Design and Food, which are subcategories of Arts. Similarly, listeners who enjoy a show that is categorized under True Crime and History will see recommendations for more shows from the True Crime and History categories.

Categories in Search are personalized to each user, so anyone can quickly get access to their favorite and most relevant categories. Listeners can fine-tune recommendations throughout the app by selecting Favorite or Suggest Less on show, category, or channel pages. These selections can be changed at any time in the Manage Categories tab.

Top charts

Charts are associated with categories, so a show’s category selection determines which charts it will appear on. A show can appear on the charts for each category and subcategory selected, and charts for the most popular categories are presented in Apple Podcasts. Creators can also generate free social assets when a show appears in the charts for these categories using the Social Post Generator.

Podcasting services

Category selection also influences how shows are presented by third-party podcasting services that reference a show’s RSS feed or the Apple Podcasts catalog. For example, some podcasting services will display multiple categories on each show page, use the categories included in a show’s RSS feed to power various search experiences, and display a list of charts for every category and subcategory. Learn how Apple Podcasts distributes your shows to listeners.

How to add a category in Apple Podcasts Connect

1. Select a show.
2. Select the categories and subcategories which best reflect the content of your show.
   
3. Save your changes.
   

How to add a category to your RSS feed

Choose the category that best reflects the content of your show and specify it in your RSS feed. If available, you can also define a subcategory:

Specify a category without a subcategory:

<itunes:category text="History" />

Specify a category with a subcategory:

<itunes:category text="Society &amp; Culture"> <itunes:category text="Documentary" /></itunes:category>

Specify multiple categories:

<itunes:category text="Society &amp; Culture"> <itunes:category text="Documentary" /></itunes:category><itunes:category text="Health &amp; Fitness"> <itunes:category text="Mental Health" /></itunes:category>

Keep the following in mind when specifying categories and subcategories within your RSS feed:

Escape ampersands:

<itunes:category text="Kids &amp; Family" />

Self-close category tags where no subcategories are available:

<itunes:category text="True Crime" />

The values below are supported within the <itunes:category> tag. Specify the exact value listed within the “Corresponding programming” column. These will be automatically localized based on the user's Language & Region settings.